5th wheel newbie questions

If I were buying again, I'd be looking hard at the Arctic Fox manufacturer. They didn't have a 5th wheel dealer in Utah at the time I was buying (only dealers selling truck campers).

IdaD wrote:

shinglers3 wrote:
That truck will be fine for a small fifth wheel. Check out the Andersen Ultimate hitch, I use one in my short bed Chevy no need for slider and can turn 90.

Ditto. I tried a slider first and rammed the pinbox mount into my tailgate, so don't assume you need a slider on all short bed trucks - it depends on the setup. The Andersen flipped back gives me plenty of clearance.

Ditto for me -- flipped block. I also went with the Anderson to save me 150 lbs or more in payload since it is lighter (and now they have the aluminium version).

Thanks guys for all the good advice.

shinglers3 wrote:
That truck will be fine for a small fifth wheel. Check out the Andersen Ultimate hitch, I use one in my short bed Chevy no need for slider and can turn 90.

Ditto. I tried a slider first and rammed the pinbox mount into my tailgate, so don't assume you need a slider on all short bed trucks - it depends on the setup. The Andersen flipped back gives me plenty of clearance.

there are so many optios so just go with something you like and if it has the newer nose cone--turn radius--you dont need a slider hitch. lots of used hitches out and around.

a montana 3150 is nice (34 feet) but lots of nice units out there but check them out.

Some 5ers have a front cap that's designed for SB trucks w/o a slider hitch. You can also mount the hitch a little behind axle center if the hitch weight isn't too high. I have a friend who does that, no problem. I would try to avoid a slider or sidewinder type of hitch if possible. Craig

shinglers3 wrote:
That truck will be fine for a small fifth wheel. Check out the Andersen Ultimate hitch, I use one in my short bed Chevy no need for slider and can turn 90.

X2. If your truck is a 3/4 ton Duramax, you'll hit the max capacity for the rear axle with pin weight long before you max on total towing capacity. The process/formula for determining what your actual payload capacity would be has been posted on this and the other RV forums many times...

We tow a 13.9K fifth wheel with a 2500HD D/A but have to be very careful with what we load in the basement, front closet, and under the bed (nothing in the pickup bed except the Andersen hitch).

Rob

That truck will be fine for a small fifth wheel. Check out the Andersen Ultimate hitch, I use one in my short bed Chevy no need for slider and can turn 90.

Wo.ody wrote:
TC'er considering moving to a small 5th wheel.Sorry for the stupid questions.

Tow vehicle would be a diesel single wheel short bed. Would there be problems?

Not intending to start a "brand war", IYO, what are the two highest quality 5th wheel manufactures?

Thanks for your response.

I tried to build a chart of quality by manufacturer. I made a draft and that is the best I came up with (I even asked for input but didn't get anybody disagreeing with me or caring).

If you mean a one ton diesel SRW you should have no problems pulling a fifth wheel. The short bed will mean that you will need a more expensive 'slider' hitch or will have to be more careful making turns with a standard hitch.

We have pulled our 34 ft fiver all over the west, up and down mountains easily. If you are going to stick to the flatlands east of the rockies then a gasser will work but will get terrible mileage. Three quarter ton trucks are only a tiny amount cheaper that a one ton and make no sense if you intend to pull a fifth wheel.

As for brands, there are so many that I cannot make a recommendation.